Chapter 47 The Sad Little Girl
A long bluestone staircase leads to a courtyard, and inside the courtyard is an open-air cement space - this seems to be a Dharma hall used for rituals. There are many long benches on both sides of the Dharma hall, and a large brazier in the middle.
A little girl who looked only twelve or thirteen years old was squatting beside the brazier, throwing the deceased's belongings into the brazier.
"Why are the lights so dim here!" Lu Bubu said, grabbing Shi Xiaoyin's arm next to him.
"You've torn my clothes." Shi Xiaoyin complained as she pulled up the blue plaid jacket that had been torn off.
"Hey, why are you here? Wasn't the little brother just next to us?"
"You've lost your mind! I've been standing here the whole time."
Xie Liang, who had been standing on Lu Bubu's left, said helplessly: "I'm here."
Inside the Dharma Hall, a man and a woman were hanging mourning couplets on the beams on either side of the room. Seeing Xie Liang and the others enter, they sped up their work. After finishing, the two walked towards Xie Liang and the others.
"The funeral couplets and wreaths have been placed. I'll trouble you to keep watch tonight. The rest will be handled tomorrow when the Yin-Yang Master comes."
The speaker claimed to be the deceased woman's youngest son, Zhao Mingze. Standing beside him was his wife, Chen Dongmei. Both looked haggard, their eyes darkened, clearly from weeping. Zhao Mingze led Xie Liang and the others toward the mourning hall.
A red-lacquered cypress coffin sat in the center of the mourning hall, beneath which stood an eight-person square table, serving as an altar. On the table were the old woman's portrait, an incense burner with three incense sticks, and some offerings.
Strangely, the old woman's body was not placed in a coffin, but was placed on a simple bed made of several wooden boards, covered with a red embroidered quilt that she had used during her lifetime.
At first glance, the bulge under the quilt is very thin, and it is not difficult to guess that the old woman was thin when she was alive.
Several people were kneeling on the futon beside the wooden bed. They were probably the old woman's grandchildren. The youngest among them looked to be in his thirties. However, their faces were not sad at all, but rather revealed impatience.
Seeing Xie Liang and his group coming in, they quickly got up from the ground. One of the fat men shouted loudly: "Since you are here, I will go home first."
Zhao Mingze looked surprised. "Didn't your father ask you to stay and keep watch? As the eldest grandson, you should at least fulfill this responsibility!"
The fat man yawned, his face full of impatience: "I'm just a grandson, not a son, and I have to come here early tomorrow morning. You can stay if you want, I don't care. Brother, let's go!" After that, he took the two people to the door.
Seeing this, a woman in her twenties advised, "Uncle, we still have a lot of things to do tomorrow, so we really need to get some rest. Just let them keep watch. Auntie has always been in poor health, so don't let her get sick from working herself to death."
Zhao Mingze's daughter-in-law Chen Dongmei's eyes were red and swollen from crying, and she looked shaky. She stared sadly at the corpse covered with a red quilt beside her.
Zhao Mingze glanced at his frail wife and said no more. He turned to Xie Liang and the others and instructed them, "I'll trouble you to keep watch tonight. The soul-guiding incense on the incense table must not be burned out. It must be replaced with new incense before it goes out. The oil lamp beside it must not be extinguished either. I'll send Dongmei home first and will be back soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to suddenly remember something and asked Xie Liang and the others, "Where are Zhao Liu and Zhou Baopi? Why can't I see them?"
Before Zhao Mingze finished speaking, Zhao Liu and Zhou Paopi walked in, followed by several other Adventers. Among them, the few led by Huang Datong had a casual demeanor, as if they didn't care at all.
After seeing Zhao Mingze, Zhao Liu and Zhou Paopi hurriedly explained to him that they were only responsible for reporting the death and had already taken care of the matter, and other matters had nothing to do with them.
Afterwards, Zhao Liu took out a flashlight from a basket of junk nearby and left with Zhou Paopi.
Not long after the two men left, the people in the bereaved family also left one after another, leaving only the little girl of twelve or thirteen years old still standing by the brazier burning something.
As the night deepened, a breeze started to blow quietly all around. The paper money placed by the wall was blown around in the wind, which made people feel cold.
The Adventers gathered in the open space of the Dharma Hall. As for the arrangements for the night watch, everyone unanimously adopted the plan proposed by Shi Xiaoyin: two to three people in a group, each group took turns on duty for one hour, so that they could just keep watch until dawn.
Everyone quickly divided into five groups, and the order of duty was determined by drawing lots. Xie Liang was assigned to group 4. It was a little after 1 a.m., and 5 a.m. was the time for him and Xu He to be on duty.
As the first group prepared to enter the main hall for the night watch, Xie Liang stopped them and warned, "The three incense sticks must not be broken, and the oil lamps must not be extinguished. When handing over, be sure to remind the next group."
The three of them responded casually and walked towards the mourning hall.
The wind grew stronger, the wreaths rustled, and the white lanterns under the eaves shook violently.
Xie Liang and his group took a nap on the bench outside the mourning hall, while the other groups of descenders went to rest in the shed under the bluestone steps.
Through the dim light, Xie Liang saw the little girl kneeling in the mourning hall, her small figure sobbing constantly.
Xie Liang pointed at the little girl and said to Xu He beside him, "I want to comfort her."
"I'll wait for you at the door." Xu He replied softly.
Xie Liang took out the shoulder bag from the storage ring Xu He gave him, put it on his back, took out a pocket watch from the bag, held it in his hand, and walked towards the little girl.
He bowed three times respectfully to the body, then sat down on the mat next to the little girl.
The little girl looked up at him in surprise.
Xie Liang lowered his voice and asked, "Are you the old man's great-granddaughter?"
The little girl ignored him and lowered her head.
"As long as you remember your great-grandmother, she will always live in your heart." Xie Liang put the pocket watch into the little girl's hand and said, "Time will not leave anyone behind."
The little girl raised her head, stared at Xie Liang in a daze, and corrected him in a low voice: "It's not great-grandmother, it's grandma."
"Feel sorry."
The little girl held the pocket watch and shook her head gently at Xie Liang.
After the little girl calmed down a little, Xie Liang began to ask her about her relationship with the old woman and the situation at the old woman's home.
From the little girl, Xie Liang learned that she was picked up by an old woman by the river and fostered under the name of the eldest son Zhao Batian, but she had always been raised by the old woman herself.
The old lady's illness was caused by beatings from her husband, Zhao Quan. When Zhao Quan was young, he often went out to play, only returning home once every few years. When he returned home, he only cared about having children and ignored the children he had conceived.
For many years, the old woman lived frugally and raised her children by doing handicrafts, living a life like a widow. It was not until a few years ago that Zhao Quan returned home to live out his retirement.
When mentioning Zhao Quan, the little girl's face showed obvious hatred and her tone gradually became excited.
After returning home, Zhao Quan spent the whole day doing nothing. Even though he was old, he was still thinking about going to the brothel in town to have fun. When the old woman didn't give him money, he beat her.
A few days ago, Zhao Quan once again assaulted the old woman, causing her to suffer a cerebral hemorrhage and faint at the door of her house. After the neighbors found her, they sent the old woman to the town clinic.
This poor old woman spent her whole life in misery, and spent most of her life waiting for her husband to change his mind.
After saying this, the little girl burst into tears again, staring blankly at the body on the wooden bed.
Xie Liang took out a tissue and wiped her nose: "Does your grandma love your grandpa very much?"
"Well, she's very kind to Grandpa. She gets up at dawn every day to cook breakfast for him. Big brother, everyone in the village knows about this..."
The little girl burst into tears: "Many people advised grandma to stop worrying about grandpa, but she still took care of him...Grandpa became demented a while ago, and he became even more brutal when he beat people..."
"So how does your adoptive father treat grandma?"
The little girl shook her head: "He smokes opium and always asks grandma for money. I hate him."
Xie Liang didn't ask any more questions, but just stayed with her quietly.
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